Do cheaper lamps work with Shellac?

[poshpedicures]

I have always used the correct/recommended CND Lamp for Shellac applications but day after day I come across people who "do their own Shellac" after buying a lamp for around £20 from an on-line shop. After much protest from me telling them that the CND lamp is the only one that cures shellac etc,etc I'm always met with the fact that it seems to do a perfectly good job at such a reasonable cost? Does any therapists/nail techs out there use other lamps for Shellac? I am thinking of buying another lamp but if I can save myself £120 or so, then every little counts as they say! Looking forward to hearing any replies please.

 

[lisa nails]

I believe your insurance may be affected if your not using the lamp that cnd reccomend,i have however had to use a "hybrid" lamp as an emergency and it did seem to cure ok,but was releived when my new lamp arrived,i personally wouldnt use a "hybrid" lamp,just incase you get that slightly undercured client that comes out in a reaction,also the cnd lamp looks very proffessional,but you buy what you can afford

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[Sparkle Treats]

I use a generic lamp, and have done for years.
I had an electrician friend check out the proper CND one (that i had borrowed) and my own generic one. He said there was not not one scrap of difference, and if i was concerned, to just change the bulbs more frequently -which i do.
I've been doing this for over 5 years with no problems.
Just about to look into led at the moment, more so for the novelty of lightning fast curing than out of necessity.
Also had it cleared with my insurance too, so all good for me.

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[poshpedicures]

Thank you for your replies, it's very interesting! I agree the CND lamp does look very professional & I do like it but I don't personally see how there can be much difference in performance. I will check with my insurance, which is a very good point as I had not even thought of that! I think I will try one as a spare. Thank you so much guys.

 

[Nails<3]

I use a generic lamp, and have done for years.
I had an electrician friend check out the proper CND one (that i had borrowed) and my own generic one. He said there was not not one scrap of difference, and if i was concerned, to just change the bulbs more frequently -which i do.
I've been doing this for over 5 years with no problems.
Just about to look into led at the moment, more so for the novelty of lightning fast curing than out of necessity.
Also had it cleared with my insurance too, so all good for me.

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Just out of interest, how did your insurance clear you as CND protocol is to use the CND lamp? Its manufacturer instructions.

Does your insurance company not tell you to follow MI?

To the OP, there was a test done with the CND lamp and 3 other generic lamps, although it may look cured to the eye, it showed that the 3 others did not cure the CND shellac properly and it wiped straight off the nail pop with parts cured in place.

I can't seem to find the video but will keep searching.

Again its against manufacturer instructions to not use the CND lamp for CND shellac.

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[Sparkle Treats]

I sent all the details on what i use with copies of instructions for electrical goods etc and i was insured.
The only thing that was impossible to insure for was sunbeds because they're illegal here due to the high rate of skin cancer.
It was easy, and i went through a broker who came an assessed everything.

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[Emily2]

I have used both and I'd choose the CND lamp every time. I started with a generic lamp but as my business grew I invested in the CND lamp. I love it. It looks professional, has different timing settings, which most generic lamps don't, and incorporates a fan. I really didn't see any problem with the other lamp until I bought a CND one. Recently I had to return my lamp to Sweet Squared but had some clients booked so I had to use my other lamp as an emergency replacement whilst I was waiting for the new one to arrive. I wish I'd just moved the appointments. 3 out of the 6 clients I used the generic lamp with had problems with their Shellac chipping/peeling (which they've never had when I've cured it in the CND lamp) and one complained that the lamp was very hot (no fan!) The cheaper lamp cost me quite a lot in free re-dos so isn't really that economical in the long run.

 

[LieLash]

I no longer do shellac ( lashes only now ) but this is a subject that I wondered about when I was doing nails

I did invest in the cnd lamp and IMO if u are offering the treatment you MUST have the lamp for appearances

However i did ALOT of research into this and came across a very interesting article from a chap who's specialism was electrical etc. He wrote an article on how he took apart this lamp, compared it to a much cheaper version and his result came back that both were exactly the same

Off the back off this I took my cnd lamp and a cheap lamp I had as a back up to a friend of mine that runs he's own computer/ electrical company ( he repairs pretty much every thing ) and takes on work for a lot of the big electrical companies who outsource it to him when the repair is above them ( so he knows his stuff )

He too came back with the same conclusions that both lamps are exactly the Same and couldn't believe how much I had paid for the cnd lamp

I know cnd say you MUST have their lamp and no other will suffice / of course they will say this / they don't want to lose out to a £10 lamp off eBay - it wouldn't make business sense to them to admit that a cheap lamp is the same ( sorry cnd I know I'm gonna upset a lot of people here )

However I still stand by that if you offer shellac u must have the lamp to keep your business looking professional

 

[jodiewood]

I bought a £20 lamp as an experiment as it definitely didn't cure shellac. It would chip and peel within two days and you could tell just by the texture of it it wasn't cured

 

[debilour]

It's more to do with the band width of the uv light produced, rather than the actual build quality of the electrical device itself, if the light spectrum isn't right, it will not cure the gel correctly.

I used to do marine aquatics and I grew various types of coral, if the light spectrum (including uv) wasn't correct it wouldn't grow! I'm using this logic as for curing gel.

 

[Sparkle Treats]

Interesting comments here. ..
Now that my business is building, and shellac, IBD and Gelish are my most popular treatments, I've been considering changing to a CND lamp. I bought the IBD one, but found it didn't cure the thumbs, so was gutted about that.
I did always like the fan in the CND lamp.
So just to confirm before i start looking into it again. .., the CND lamp will cure ALL UV polish/gel.
Is that right?

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[Russian doll]

For my studio I bought a CND lamp and I'm totally happy with, it hasn't broke so far. And I actually got a second CND lamp for free for doing one of the Shellac classes at my local supplier, so I have that as a back up.
But at the salon where I work we use a LED OPI lamp, and I can tell it is not curing Shellac properly. Until you apply a top coat the colour layer is very wet, if you touch it it comes off. Some of the lighter colours stay super tacky and when applying the top coat it drags and moves the colours coats. Once it is done it does last as normal, but we did already had a case of an allergic reaction with one of the clients.

 

[Sparkle Treats]

So your LED lamp isn't curing everything?
Sorry, I'm always a bit thick first thing on a Monday morning.
Even without having a big weekend....

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[Russian doll]

So your LED lamp isn't curing everything?
Sorry, I'm always a bit thick first thing on a Monday morning.
Even without having a big weekend....


It's not my lamp, it's the one that salon provides, I'm just an employee there. But yes, it's not curing the colour coats properly-they stay wet, like semi-cured. Some colours are worst then others, like I noticed lighter colours practically don't cure at all, they drag and move when top coat goes on top. The nails only harden once the top coat is applied and cured.
But they always said that Shellac is not LED curable. I don't have experience with a generic UV lamp. If it has a similar construction and same power bulbs I don't see why it wouldn't work just as well only because it doesn't have a CND logo on it.
Just for me it was a no brainer when purchasing a system for my studio- I bought everything the same brand, it looks more professional in my eyes. But as I said one lamp was a one time investment and the other one was free. I don't know what I would do if my lamps keep breaking like I hear it happens with people on this forum.

 

[poshpedicures]

My husband always says you get what you pay for! I do love my CND Lamp, however I still find it very difficult to believe that it can be the only uv lamp that can cure Shellac power polish, after all as it's been mentioned the appliances must be basically the same and could be more to do with the size of the bulb or coverage of the bulbs over the Shellac, maybe?
I just find it very frustrating when people are constantly informing me that they have (or their friend /whoever) has a lamp which cost £20 or so and apply the Shellac for a fraction of what it costs to be applied in salons and have good results as well.
Thank you for your interesting points, it's very helpful.

 

[poshpedicures]

To Sparkletreats, the CND lamps is (as we are told) the only one that cures Shellac power polish but will cure all other gels!
(Which again is another point I don't understand) because in that case any uv lamp would have to cure Shellac also surely? Omg! It's all very clever marketing...x

 

[BuzzyBee12]

For my studio I bought a CND lamp and I'm totally happy with, it hasn't broke so far. And I actually got a second CND lamp for free for doing one of the Shellac classes at my local supplier, so I have that as a back up.

But at the salon where I work we use a LED OPI lamp, and I can tell it is not curing Shellac properly. Until you apply a top coat the colour layer is very wet, if you touch it it comes off. Some of the lighter colours stay super tacky and when applying the top coat it drags and moves the colours coats. Once it is done it does last as normal, but we did already had a case of an allergic reaction with one of the clients.

Shellac is uv cured not led so the LED lamp won't be curing it at all (unless it is uv too)

 

[lulubella]

If its cheap.... pay twice. Please invest as your clients will come back screaming xxx

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[pure]

Schoon Scientific - Doug Schoon, scientist and nail industry expert provides educational articles

 

[NancySyd]

The lamp debate tends to be quite a heated one. There are lots of words like conspiracy, hype, marketing thrown around. And while I will say that I think CND has been overly proprietary in dealing with the issue, the science of curing is real and is something every tech ought to know and understand completely. Every tech should read the Schoon article in pure's post above. The CND UV lamp was designed to cure CND Shellac which, because of its use of fewer and different photo initiators, tends to be a bit harder to cure properly. As a result, the CND lamp will cure pretty much any gel out there. And, btw, an electrician could only verify that the wiring of the lamp were the same, not the UV output - a spectrometer is an expensive tool an electrician would not likely have.

There is no easily accessible means for determining a proper cure because gel hardens when it is only about 55% cured. You will hear some techs say that they've used LED or generic lamps to cure Shellac and it has worked. The problem is they really don't know. What often happens is that because clear/light coats tend to cure more easily, the base cures okay, the color coats only cure somewhat, but the top coat cures, leaving a "sandwich" of uncured gel securely affixed to the nail. It looks cured and it may even last a while, but it is a hazard to both tech and client.